In The Studio - Wednesday

Wow has the muse been keeping me busy!! I finished getting glass on the donation piece, which I'll share more about in a separate post once it's grouted and ready to go. Number 25 of 25 crosses got some mosaic bling and I've started working on a large glass vase that has etched fish in it. This was gifted to me by someone we consider extended family. She is always thinking about how I can take what she no longer wants and turn it into a mosaic or use for my art in some way. Gotta love it!

The donation piece is an 8 inch piece of MDF. This is similar in design to "A New Horizon" a glass-on-glass mosaic I made a few years ago. "From A Distance" is ready for grout and finishing touches.

The last cross was a difficult one. I originally used dish tiles and stones on this and the grout cracked and chipped off the tiles. I thought I had a photo of the damage it did, but I can't locate it. Trust me, it wasn't pretty. I hadn't primed the cross before putting the tiles on it for some reason; had to have been when I wasn't feeling well because this is a no-brainer when it comes to mosaic substrates --- ALWAYS prime wood or MDF and even some glass pieces before putting tesserae down on the substrate. It caused water to seep through the grout into the MDF and cracked the grout. Luckily, the cross did not warp. Whew. I painstakingly chopped up the stones with a hammer, dug out all the grout and tiles and let it sit for a while before I decided to prime it and try again. As I was moving things around during the cleaning frenzy (which has stopped for the moment because the muse wanted to play with all the fun things I found while cleaning) I saw a box with tiles in it that would be perfect for cross #25.

This vase stands 10 inches high. I tried to get some photos showing the fish. As often is the case, I started with a plan which quickly faded with the sunset. The only thing I knew was the colors I wanted would be in blues, purple and greens. We'll see what happens once it's covered with glass. As usual, grout will do wonders for this one. My nipping skills are just so-so these days. I have limited mobility with my hands some days and the tools I have are old and have been lovingly used for years. But, I will still keep going because I know at some point new tools will be purchased, more space for cutting and setting up the grinder will appear when it is supposed to. Meanwhile, here is this awesome vase so far.

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!~Cindy, EarthMotherMosaics

In The Studio

This week is going in slow motion. It seems right after a holiday, everything goes much slower. I'm okay with that feeling and enjoy the long days of grouting and mosaic making magic. No frantic "must get it done!!!" feelings at all this week ... and I like it!

We had our Thanksgiving on Saturday, gathering all the fam together. We had a great time together. I usually try to take some photos but I spent most of the day cooking so when the time came to sit, I sat! I've decided after seeing this photo, that although I kind of enjoy looking like a Happy Buddha, I don't enjoy seeing all those chins that always seem to suddenly appear when I sit a certain way on this couch. It's only on this couch. Perhaps I should learn NOT to sit on it but do what my Dad does and lean in, standing up! But part of being a Happy Buddha is accepting what I look like and becoming unattached to it. Buddha has a lot of chins and seems perfectly fine with them. Easier said than done but I am going to work on that way of thinking more often. Until that time, from this day forth, I am going to be known as the Scarf Nana. I am wearing one now! Wish I had thought of it before the photo below. Sigh.

The Super Secret Mosaics Lab is going to open again in a few days when I'll be working on a gift for the Little Dude. He likes to play the PopCap game "Plants vs Zombies", so I thought I'd have some fun making him a mosaic rendition of that. Here's the inspiration, for those who have no idea what I'm talking about.

Wish me a lot of luck. I think I'm challenging myself a little too much when I decided to do this. But it's good to keep the juices flowing.

Grouting was done a few days ago. Much cleaning needs to be done on almost all of these before they can get listed, but I'm very pleased with the results.

I did need to rest for a day or two, enjoying leftover turkey sandwiches along the way, before starting on a new project.

I had some leftover glass and mirror cut from the gazing ball and decided to make some coasters. Simple design and sparkly glass and mirror. Cool!

I re-grouted the black bowl I've named "Dizzy". After dropping it a few months ago, a piece of the grout along the top of the bowl cracked and fell off. It, too, needs a lot of cleaning before it can be relisted, but it looks good once more. Yay!

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!

Cindy

Promo Blast!

It's all about fun wall art this week!

Head on over to my shop EarthMotherMosaics through aftcra to find these and more fun home decor items for gift-giving to friends and fam or to keep for yourself. You deserve a gift too!

Remember, custom orders are always welcome!

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!

Cindy

In The Studio - Part One

It's been a little bit slower in the studio this week. I'm waiting for supplies to arrive so I can work on the custom ordered vase. I've also been able to get a few vases and some other cool glass things to put glass on in the months to come. That's always exciting!

I did manage to get a few things made and added to the grout pile recently. In addition, I am waiting for grout to arrive (I order it online) so I can get everything finished up that's in that rather large pile. Yay!

The muse enjoys these slow times to gather inspiration and energy for the busy times.

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!

Cindy

Promo Blast!

Square Peace Sign - Retro Style Mosaic - FREE Shipping Within US - $95.00

A very unique shape for a very unique mosaic peace sign. Square in design using the ever popular Mid Century Modern "Atomic" dishes nipped up along with a few pieces of china from a separate design. Blended together nicely on this really groovy peace sign, we have to say it: "It's hip to be square!".

We love putting mosaics on peace signs. It is the most fun ever to take a well-known shape and create something new and unusual with it.

Measures 10 inches, has a keyhole slot on back for instant hanging.

Sides and back are painted in vermilion.

Interested in a custom order? Want your very own peace sign in some broken china you may have? We can provide it for you in a favorite color or one in a mosaic of stained glass. Or both. If you have it, we take your broken china, mugs and broken jewelry and make them into forever keepsakes in mosaic giving something old a new purpose once more. We also have a rather large collection of all tesserae and bits and bobs from gathering materials and finding treasures for 10 years. We can provide what's needed. Go to this listing for more information:

http://earthmothermosaics.storenvy.com/collections/617158-custom-made-to-order/products/13656393-mosaic-peace-sign-10-inches-custom-made-to-order

Contact me and we'll talk!

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!

Cindy

In The Studio - Part One

Studio time this week is all about final touches, photography and listings. All of the small mosaic wall art pieces I've been working on over the past 2 weeks are keeping me busy.

Some of these have been listed. One was listed today and sold a few hours later! Yay!

Mosaic Butterfly Wall Hanging - 3.5 x 4 inches

SOLD

Mosaic Abstract Wall Hanging - Earth Tones - 4 Inches

I still have quite a bit of grouting to do but the pile is slowly going down. Woo-hoo!

Chances are good I'll get back to grouting this week but only after all have been set up for listings. It's awesome to have so many small mosaics to list!

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!

Cindy

In The Studio - Part One

It's been a fairly good week so far. I managed to get some things grouted and listed a few things on Storenvy. That's always a good thing.

Grouting is coming along well but slowly. I create 1-3 small mosaics a day and grout 2 at each session unless they are 8-10 inches. The small ones, 3-6 inches can be done in duplicates before my body says "enough"!

I listed the sun and moon this week. So happy with how they turned out. I love that grout color!!

Mosaic Celestial Crescent Moon - 6 inches

Mosaic Celestial Sun - 6 inches

Whenever I list something new, I share it on many different social media sites including Pinterest. This morning I noticed someone pinned the crescent moon in their DIY board. I think that's wonderful that this inspires them to want to make their own mosaic! Whenever I see my mosaics pinned onto a board like that, I want to offer my help, just in case they need it. It is now my practice to write to them on their board, letting them know I'm here to help if they need it. I think everyone should learn how to mosaic and if they can't or decide it's not as much fun as they think, I hope they walk away from the experience in a positive light.

I'm telling you, it's so much better for your soul to see that favorite broken coffee cup or the broken plate that was part of Grandma's good china as a potential art project that you can hang on your wall or gift to someone you love. I used to cry when I broke my favorite dish or cup. Now I think, "Okay! What can I make with the pieces?!"

Speaking of pieces ... I made another peace sign with hand cut dish tiles!

A few days ago I discovered a box with some pieces of Fiestaware I thought I'd tossed out about 2 years ago in green, yellow and orange. I added what I found (after doing a big ole' happy dance!) to the leftovers in Fiestaware from the custom ordered peace sign I made last month and had enough to make a 10 inch peace sign with them. I added a lot of glass 1/2 circles and one other design in dish tiles to fill in the gaps, otherwise I wouldn't have had enough to get it covered. I'm so happy I found what I needed to make another large peace sign. Yay!

It is now grouted but I don't have photos of it yet. Once I get it painted around the sides and back it's getting place on Storenvy. I hope to work on this today.

Each day, as I said, I mosaic a few small pieces. These photos show all before grouting. The next post should have the ones I've grouted and finished up. I hope to list most of these.

I should be able to get some decent photos of what I've grouted soon. The Camera Goddess and I aren't really working well together right now. I've been known to take 65 photos of one item and delete them all due to fuzziness or general out-of-focus looking photos. It's all part of the process. The sun should be out for the rest of the week making it a little easier to get a good photo or two. I hope.

Come back on Friday, for Part Two. I will share the grouted pieces and more new ones to be grouted! I love to mosaic!!

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!

Cindy